Author: wandasknottythoughts@gmail.com

Washcloth Bunnies

I didn’t realize how hard it was to find small stuffed toys for my niece and nephews for Easter. So many of the cute little things that are obviously made for small children have tags that specify they are not for children under 3. Really?! The ones that are made for children that young are usually more expensive, too. So I started looking for alternatives.

While at the store I remembered seeing animals made from folded towels and wash clothes, so I opened Pinterest on my phone to see what I could find.

Three Wash Cloth bunnies for Easter on wandasknottythoughts
Three Wash Cloth bunnies for Easter

There are a lot of variations on folded animals out there on the Internet. I found this version which only needs a washcloth and a rubber band. I didn’t add anything extra, like eyes or tails or neck ribbons, which would have been cute, I  kept it very simple.

I chose three different colors for the bunnies: blue for the oldest boy (about 5), pink for his little sister (most 3 year-old girls like pink at least a little bit), and aqua/teal for this littlest (less than 1-year-old). My thought is they are cute as a gift but are useful. They don’t have to be just one more cute little fuzzy toy to be played with for a short time and then forgotten. And if they want the bunnies back they are simple enough to remake.

Wash Cloth bunnies for Easter on wandasknottythoughts
Two Wash Cloth bunnies for Easter

I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t see the kids get them. Several family members were under the weather including the kid’s grandma and mom. I sent them the bunnies and a few other Easter basket goodies home anyway. Their mom texted me thanks and that they liked the bunnies.

Though we missed a few of the family and had to change the venue (from my sister-in-law’s house to ours) Easter was a wonderful day. It was cold outside but my grandkids insisted they wanted an egg hunt. We didn’t hide them very well but they got to go out and look for them. They also got to go to the neighbor’s place and see the baby chicks. That was a high light of the day. We were so blessed to have as many come as we did.

The tatting the bunnies are sitting on is a piece I started maybe 15 years ago. I got almost done with this part and decided I didn’t like it for table clothe I was wanting to make. The pink bunny is hiding the unfinished edge where I ran out of thread and never went back to finish. With a little strategic planning, it is still pretty enough to use.

“Having someone to love is Family
Having somewhere to go is Home
Having both is a Blessing”
quotesgram.com

Another Simple Easter Cross

I’ve made another Simple Easter Cross with a slight modification. I put a finding in the middle instead of making a ring. I used Lizbeth #187 Green Ice in size 20 for this one.

Simple Easter Cross with a finding in the center on wandasknottythoughts
Simple Easter Cross with a finding in the center

The finding in the center is a bit larger than the tatted ring so there are a few stitch count changes. There was a bit of trial and error to get the right dimensions, which I expected. If you happen to be using thread already on the shuttles that are not wound continuously this is much easier. The large Self-Closing Mock Ring (SCMR) at the bottom can be a bit of a pain, but certainly better than a regular ring!

It came out well. After a few issues!

This isn’t harder than the cross with the tatted ring center. It’s almost exactly the same, you just start with the rings attaching to the center instead of making one and climbing out. But it helps to pay attention to what you are doing. Things go much better that way.

I started this several times. I retro tatted several times because of mistakes, and several times found that I hadn’t made a mistake after all. I also cut it off once or twice because I did make mistakes. I didn’t have this much trouble with the original in the several times I made it.

I like how quickly this tats up – when paying attention! I plan to put ends on the several I’ve made to make them bookmarks. They will be wonderful to have for gifts to be put in cards, for sympathy or congratulations.

I’ve added the pattern for the Simple Easter Cross on my patterns page. This is for the tatted center, not the finding. To use a finding for the center the SCMRs need a few extra stitches.

“Determination will get you through this.” From a fortune cookie.

Happy Easter!

Simple cross for Easter on wandasknottythoughts
Simple cross

I hope you all have had a wonderful and blessed Easter.

This year Easter and International Tatting Day happen to fall on the same day. Which made it a very full day! Church in the morning, big family dinner and visiting in the afternoon, then finally a chance to sit down and tat.

I was trying to make a cross that was quick but simple to tat. I also was trying not to spend too much time on the Internet, which is extremely easy to do. So I fiddled around a bit and came up with this one. It’s made in Lizbeth #620 Azalea Medium size 20.

Now that I have time to put my feet up I’m making a couple more but with findings in the center. I think I can use the same stitch count as I did for this one. We’ll see.

I’m also working on a doily that is currently pinned out. I need it to be flat so I can decide what the next round will look like. It has been quite an interesting project so far. I’ll be sharing it later.

Now, I’m going to get me a warm drink – it’s pretty chilly today – put my feet up and tat. And have some chocolate!

“If you do what you love, it is the best way to relax.” Christian Louboutin                 www.brainyquote.com

 

Panya Ice Drop

What do you do when you have leftover thread on your shuttles? You find something small to make with it of course. I thought an ice drop would fit the bill to use up some of my remnant threads.

Panya Ice Drop on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Panya Ice Drop

I still had Lizbeth #638 Christmas Green and #671 Christmas Red size 20 on a couple of shuttles, so those are what I worked with. I started with the idea of the basic ice drop pattern with a few minor adjustments, then added the outside round. The center is a blue glass gem from The Dollar Store.

I don’t recall seeing this particular pattern before so I named it. If I am incorrect I’ll acknowledge the author and update this.

Ice drops are fun to make and usually don’t use much thread. Once you know how to make the basic ice drop you can enjoy creating so many different variations to fashion each one a little different. Or make the same one over and over and still have fun tatting them. There isn’t much to limit your ice drop creation.  Except maybe the length of your thread and how many centerpieces you have.

“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.” Lauren Bacall               brainyquote.com

 

Out of the habit

It has been a while since I last posted, mostly because I haven’t been tatting a lot lately. I kind of got out of the habit. We were very busy for a while, then I got sick and had no interest in doing anything, then I found other things to do. This didn’t mean I didn’t think about tatting, I just didn’t do very much of it.

Happily, I’ve gotten my tatting groove back! I even made a few things for St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick's Day Penny Ice Drops on wandasknottythoughts 2018
St. Patrick’s Day Penny Ice Drops

I made these four Ice Drops with penny centers to send to one of my daughters. I think you could say these are made with the basic Ice Drop pattern found on the Ice Drop Addicts Facebook page. I didn’t actually follow it, but I’ve made it before. I did adjust counts to accommodate the pennies, but there is a pattern for that, too.

Because I didn’t refer to the patterns I made a few – let’s say, minor adjustments, that I didn’t think through very well. It still worked, just came out a little different than expected.

Two St. Patrick's Day Penny Ice Drops on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Two St. Patrick’s Day Penny Ice Drops

The Ice Drop on the left was the first one. I miscalculated when I put the penny in, putting Lincoln’s head in the wrong location (I thought it would look funny with him looking down instead of out).  I made the hanger long and joined it so Lincoln would sit correctly. Then I noticed the chains didn’t sit quite right, either. Do you see it?

I made a couple Ice Drops with the chains the same way before I figured out what was going on with them.  After that, I ordered them the other way.

I mailed four pins to my oldest daughter to get them to her before St. Patrick’s Day. We were visiting our other daughter on the Friday before, so hers I hand delivered. Because of another project I was working on – non-tatting related – I didn’t have all of them tatted by the time we left. Guess what I was doing on the trip up there? I made sure to take the beads and pins with me so I could finish them up before they were handed out.

I needed four pins for my other daughter but forgot to make one for me. So I finished that one on Saturday afternoon and promptly gave it away as well. The pins were a big hit.

I’m glad I’ve finally gotten back into the habit of tatting.

“Positivity is like a muscle: keep exercising it, and it becomes a habit.” Natialie Massenet    https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/natalie_massenet_653263

Valentine shuttle

I think I might have mentioned before that I have a wonderful husband. Just in case I haven’t – I have a wonderful, thoughtful, sweet husband! 🙂

He knows me very well. Instead of flowers for Valentine’s Day, he got me a beautiful Abalone tatting shuttle.

Abalone tatting shuttle for Valentine's Day on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Abalone shuttle for Valentine’s Day

The other side looks a bit different from the front.

Abalone tatting shuttle flip side for Valentine's Day on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Abalone tatting shuttle flip side for Valentine’s Day

According to the seller, it is a 19th-century shuttle. It looks and feels lovely. It came a few days early, but he couldn’t wait to give it to me.

I look forward to using this one. Only at home though. It is so smooth and slick it will be a bit hard to hold on to. I would hate to lose it in the car or the floor in some strange place. I plan to keep this one for a while.

Wishing you all a fantastic Valentine’s Day!

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”Charles M. Schulz  brainyquote.com

Larissa Ice Drop

Larissa Ice Drop tatting on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Larissa Ice Drop

This is ‘Larissa’, done in Lizbeth size 20 white, an ice drop that came about because I wanted to change up from the one I had been doing. This isn’t my favorite, but once I started I figured I should at least finish it. I almost didn’t, but it did come out better than I had expected.

The last few weeks I’ve only been tatting sporadically. I’ve been reading more than anything in my free time instead. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t get much else done.

My next project is to write out the several ice drop patterns that I’ve done. Unless I get distracted by my shuttles or another book.

“Who I am, what I am, is the culmination of a lifetime of reading, a lifetime of stories. And there are still so many more books to read. I’m a work in progress.” Sarah Addison Allen                           www.brainyquote.com

Itty Bitty Shuttles

Shuttle Earrings on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Shuttle Earrings

Check out what my wonderful husband got me for my birthday! Aren’t they pretty??

Silver Tatting Shuttle Earrings on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Silver Tatting Shuttle Earrings

He knows me so well. I think I’ll keep him!

“Even on my bad days I’m still happy with the man I married” everydayhusbandquotes.com

Magnifier Case

December just flew by! We were so busy with family, work, and church I had to make choices of what things were done and what was left undone or to do later. I have some things to blog about they are some of those things to do later.

I did get some tatting done, including several Ice Drops (to be blogged about later). A last minute gift that I tatted was for our pastor’s wife, who has a lot of trouble with her eyes. I had been thinking of getting a magnifying glass for her for a while, but I wanted one that was easy to use and portable. I found one at Hobby Lobby a few days before Christmas that was almost exactly what I had envisioned. It just needed some way to be carried that kept it nice and was easy to access.

Magnifier and case with tatting on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Magnifier and case with tatting

The felt and thread I already had at home. I design tatting but I’m not as well versed in designing with material but I was able to come up with a case made out of the felt. Of course, it couldn’t be left plain. Lizbeth Caribbean worked well with the purple felt. The tatting on it looks simple but I had to make it hard – the edging has rings on the other side, like the gem in an Ice Drop.

The entire case and tatting were done Christmas eve day/evening. You can’t make a case for something you don’t have or I would have started much earlier! I thought about attaching the tatting with fabric glue but decided that as much use as it might have, sewing was a better option. The purple paracord I had left over from my Tat Days costume worked well for the lanyard part.

Magnifier case with tatted edging on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Magnifier case with tatted edging

I’m happy to say that the recipient loved both the magnifier and the case. It will come in handy at church but also for things like reading labels at the store and menus in restaurants.

I’m hoping to blog a bit more frequently than I have been lately. I not only have been tatting some but also taking a few pictures. Maybe not everything, but most.

Here’s to a new year with lots of time for tatting! And taking pictures. And blogging. 🙂

“The beauty of handmade is in the imperfections. Anything perfect is machine made.”   craftprofessional.com